Tuesday, November 6, 2012

One day at a time

Every once in a while, Daniel and I stop and take a "thankfulness inventory". We take turns saying things we're thankful for that day. It is never hard to get a long list going, no matter how crappy or scary the day's circumstances have been. For example, last night we got into the Ronald McDonald House! We are able to stay there for the rest of the time Caleb is in the hospital, and it's really nice and only $15 a night. And Jonah is able to stay there too. That's one thing to be thankful for. The biggest thing to be thankful for today is that Caleb has had two stable days in a row. He is eating, talking, and even smiling! When the doctors came in for rounds today they were very pleased with how well he's recovered from his cardiac arrest last week. Thank God, there was no lasting damage to any of his body's systems.

Caleb is stable enough to move out of the intensive care unit and up to the Heart Center, where he will spend the rest of his time here while waiting for a new heart. We are very close to getting the approval from insurance and if all goes well, Caleb will officially be on the transplant list this week. Our life will consist of a lot of waiting and praying over the next weeks. We met with a member of the transplant team yesterday, a nurse named Debbie, who gave us some more information. Here at Riley, they do on average about 5 heart transplants a year. She said one child last year waited only a week for a new heart, and another waited 4 months. There's no way to know how long it will take. We are just so thankful that Caleb has stabilized to the point that he can get out of the ICU and can be in a much better room, where he will be able to get up and play some. That will be good for morale, because he definitely wants to get up and out of this little room.

We are encouraged, and it's wonderful to have some uneventful days, but we know there are many more challenges ahead. For now, we're enjoying some quiet time, some time to just be bored. Boring is good!

Things to pray for today:

1- Pray for Caleb's spirits to stay up. Pray for him to feel safe and secure, and to actually be able to laugh and play.

2- Pray for the insurance company to quickly approve us so we can get on the transplant list.

3- Pray for us to have wisdom to discern what to do with Jonah. Pray for us to have as much time as possible as a family.

6 comments:

Katie, we're praying for your family over here in Scotland and others here are praying for you as well. God has told us over and over to "be still and know that I am God" and I know He is just the same with you as He is with us - the great I AM. Bless you, sweet Kinnaird family! :)

I am so, so glad he is up to the Heart Center! I loved it up there. It is so calm (compared to PICU). How wonderful to hear he is stable and had no damage! What a great news post....so happy to read it! Prayers to continue for sweet Caleb and your family!

I am thankful to hear he is stable and out of ICU I am praying that everything goes quickly and he can get a new heart soon...I am praying for the rest of your family as well...May God give you peace and strength for the days ahead! God bless the Richardson family.

You have to know that you are in the best hospital that you could possibly be in. You have THE BEST doctors in the state for this proceedure. My granddaughter Gracie was there last year for an eleven hour open-heart surgery. I will pray for strength for your family as you go through this. God is good.

We are praying for your son & family. Our daughter had open heart surgery in Feb. She was 3mos old at the time. Such a scary time, but she just celebrated her 1st birthday! Your story has touched me & brought tears to my eyes. You are a brave mommy!

hey Katie I just thought I would say a few word to you and DANIEL WE HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR YOU AND DANIEL for quite some time. Just to let you know you are SPECIAL to us and have been for a long time. I love the way you write your story to let ALL know what is happening and how GOD is blessing you all. That is a gift from God that He has blessed you with. We will be lifting your whole family up to God and ask His blessing on ALL OF YOU. LOVE YOU MIKE AND MIKIE

About Us

We are a happy family of five trying to follow Jesus with our life. We have two sons, Jonah, our 5-year-old family entertainer, and Caleb, our sweet 3-year-old who was born with a congenital heart defect and in September 2013 received a heart transplant after being in the hospital for almost a year. Our baby girl Lucy was born just two weeks after Caleb came home and life is, needless to say, always interesting. We are learning to cope with what life brings and find joy in all circumstances.